RSS Twins Team Notes

[Minnesota Twins]

Greatest Twins Moments & Performances: A Twinkie Town Definitive List (Round 17)

July 11, 1965: Harmon Killebrew delivers one of the most memorable home runs in franchise history in the final game before the All-Star break. The Twins, leading the Yankees by four games in the AL standings, trailed New York 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth at Met Stadium. With Rich Rollins on first and two out, Killebrew sent a 3-and-2 pitch from Pete Miklelsen into the left-field bleachers and a 6-5 Twins victory. The Twins cruised to the AL pennant. (Photo by John Croft/Star Tribune via Getty Images) | Star Tribune via Getty Images

Results​

• R1: Jack Morris Game 7 Shutout 1991
• R2: Kirby Puckett Game 6 Dominance 1991
• R3: First World Series championship 1987
• R4: AL Champions Metrodome welcome 1987
• R5: Game 163 wild victory 2009
• R6: Mudcat’s World Series must-win 1965
• R7: Harmon’s 500th homer 1971
• R8: Final day AL Central title 2006
• R9: Kirby Puckett’s Weekend for the Ages 1987
• R10: Breaking the Playoff Curse (TM) 2023
• R11: The Donnie & Hrbie Show 1987
• R12: Johan Santana in 17K 2007
• R13: Mauer’s Final Moment 2018
• R14: Dozier’s Comeback Capper 2015
• R15: Thome is my Homie 2010
• R16: A Killer Clout 1965

There’s a moment in every memorable Twins season where fans realize “hey, this is going to be something special”. In 1965, that happened on July 11. Trailing the rival New York Yankees 5-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, Harmon Killebrew dug in representing the winning run. NYY hurler Pete Mikkelsen didn’t stand a chance:

Thanks to their superstar slugger’s walkoff heroics, the ‘65 Twins were off and running!

The newbie: a terrific trifecta!

Jacque Jones jolts contraction outta here (2002)​

• The 2001 offseason was undoubtedly the worst in Twins franchise history. After MLB Commissioner Bud Selig floated the contraction idea and Twins owner Carl Pohlad was more than willing to take the payout, it took a county judge to restore order. Jacque Jones restored between-the-white-lines order by homering in the first PA of the 2002 season! I wasn’t able to locate the audio, but Dick Bremer’s “And I hope it lands in Milwaukee!” call remains iconic.

Denard Span’s triple takes the top off (2008)​

• In the final week of the 2008 season, the Twins needed to sweep the Chicago White Sox at the Metrodome to even have a fighting chance at the AL Central crown. After taking the first two games, MN fell behind big in the finale—but kept battling back. In the bottom of the 8th, Denard Span bounced a ball down the first base line that scored Carlos Gomez to tie the game and propelled this Twinkie Town writer airborne. Alexi Casilla would later give the Twins the victory, but Span’s big blow was the buoyant moment.

Francisco Liriano out-duels Roger Clemens (2006)​

• Francisco Liriano’s 2006 run was perhaps the greatest pitching stretch in franchise history. His signature moment that season was out-dueling Roger Clemens in Houston on June 22, 2006. With The Rocket (5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) in the midst of his home-state comeback, Liriano (8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) outclassed the veteran in his own back yard. While by no means Frankie’s best single-game performance of ‘06, beating Kody’s Dad put him on the national stage.

No Way, Jose! (2024)​

• On July 3, 2024, Jose Miranda singled in the eighth inning of a blowout loss to the Tigers. Ho hum. But then, something inexplicable happened: Miranda reached base the next twelve consecutive at-bats—13 if you count a HBP mixed in! In a sport where 0-fer slumps can sometimes last weeks, Jose managed to find his way on base—without the benefit of a BB—a baker’s dozen worth of times in a row.

Radke-Santana-Lohse Go Back-To-Back-To-Back (2004)​

• On July 5, 2004, Brad Radke (9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) blanked the Kansas City Royals. Not exactly an uncommon feat in those days. But the next night, Johan Santana (9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 13 K) did the same. The next night, Kyle Lohse (9 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) made it a SP hat trick of complete game shutouts! Figures—Kyle’s one start at the Metrodome I didn’t see and he goes the distance!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...jose-miranda-streak-2024-liriano-clemens-2006

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Roster Projection 1.0: Who will break camp with the Twins?

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 28: David Festa #58 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Target Field on August 28, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Full Spring Training is officially underway with all pitchers, catchers, and position players in Fort Myers to get the Twins season started. This team, as always, is full of potential and hope for a strong 2026, but there remain a few distinct roles to be filled. Let’s break down the projected Opening Day roster at the start of Spring Training.

(Note: anyone in italics is a non-roster invitee that would need to be added to the 40-man roster before Opening Day)

Starting Pitchers​

• Locks (4): Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson
• In contention (4): Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Mick Abel
• Out (9): Andrew Morris, Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas, Marco Raya, John Klein, Cory Lewis, Trent Baker, Christian MacLeod

The top 3 in the rotation are as locked as possible. SWR probably should be a “near lock” but I think it’s his spot to lose with so many questions behind him. The splitter he added in the second half last year was quietly his best pitch and could help him take things up a level.

The final rotation spot will come down largely to health. Festa and Zebby have flashed frontline ability over the past two seasons, but both have durability questions and Festa missed the end of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He’ll be built up as a starter, but I think is bullpen bound due to health concerns. Zebby and Abel have the best stuff, but have been hit very hard in their limited MLB time. As such, Bradley probably has a leg up here.

Zebby, Abel, and Morris are likely the next men up for the rotation. Top pitching prospect Prielipp will see MLB time too, but likely out of them ‘pen after already having two UCL reconstructions in his young career.

Relief Pitchers​

• Locks (6): Taylor Rogers, Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Anthony Banda, Kody Funderburk, Eric Orze
• In contention (13): Travis Adams, Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas, Marco Raya, David Festa, Liam Hendriks, Andrew Chafin, Julian Merryweather, Matt Bowman, Dan Altavilla, Cody Laweryson, Grant Hartwig, Andrew Bash, Raul Brito
• Out (1): Matt Canterino (IL)

Almost no one is out of contention here because there are two WIDE open bullpen slots for whoever can take them. Left-handers Prielipp and Rojas’ chance of making the team straight out of camp took a hit with the additions of Rogers, Banda, and Chafin over the past few weeks. Combined with Funderburk, they need righty arms more than anything.

The only reason Hendriks isn’t a lock is because of his health. He only threw 14 innings last season with the Red Sox after barely pitching in 2023-2024 due to a cancer scare and Tommy John surgery, but flashed his strong breaking balls as usual. If he’s healthy, he will likely close games for the Twins.

Your other choices for the final bullpen spot come down to pitchers who have good stuff with bad results (Festa, Merryweather, Brito) or bad stuff with better results (Chafin, Bowman, Altavilla, Laweryson, Hartwig). Given the lack of raw stuff in the bullpen as it stands, I think they take a gamble on the first group.

Catchers​

• Locks (2): Ryan Jeffers, Victor Caratini
• In contention: none
• Out (6): Alex Jackson, David Bañuelos, Ricardo Olivar, Noah Cardenas, Patrick Winkel, Andrew Cossetti

Put it in pen. Even if there’s an injury, just sub in Jackson for whoever is out to start the season. This is the easiest group to project by far.

Infielders​

• Locks (5): Josh Bell, Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Kody Clemens
• In contention (4): Ryan Kreidler, Austin Martin, Tristan Gray, Orlando Arcia
• Out (5): Eric Wagaman, Aaron Sabato, Gio Urshela, Tanner Schobel, Kalen Culpepper

Wagaman doesn’t have a role in the infield, maybe in the outfield. Same could be said for Martin, but I wonder if Shelton gives him one last try at second base with their needs here. Clemens can’t play shortstop, unfortunately, but he should get plenty of time at 2B and 3B throughout the season.

The only real question here is who can provide any semblance of life as a utility man behind Brooks Lee. Ryan Kreidler, Tristan Gray, and Orlando Arcia will battle for the honor throughout Spring Training, but don’t be surprised if the Twins make an outside addition still.

Outfielders​

• Locks (3): Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach (for now)
• Near locks (3): Alan Roden, Austin Martin, James Outman
• In contention (2): Eric Wagaman, Kyler Fedko
• Out (5): Emmanuel Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzalez, Hendry Mendez, Walker Jenkins, Kala’i Rosario

I expect to see plenty of Rodriguez, Jenkins, and Gonzalez with the Twins this year, but they all need some more seasoning in AAA first. Fedko had a breakout 2025 in St. Paul, but sits behind Wagaman as a right-handed platoon partner for OF/1B.

Larnach is a lock for now because I still think he’ll get dealt to an outfield-needy contender before Opening Day. If he’s with the Twins, he’s obviously a lock. Roden’s fate is tied to Larnach’s as another lefty corner outfielder. In any other scenario he would be the Opening Day left fielder, but that is now Larnach’s spot with the acquisitions of Josh Bell and Victor Caratini taking up most of the 1B/DH reps.

Martin finished 2025 as one of the Twins’ most consistent position players. There’s no place for him to start, but he will start in an outfield corner against every lefty and plenty of righties as players need days off. Outman likely is a lock as well as the only other player who can play a good CF behind Buxton. Both of them could be pushed out due to roster needs elsewhere, though Outman is out of minor league options.

---

Final Roster Projection 1.0​

Bold = camp battles

SP (5): Lopez, Ryan, Ober, SWR, Taj Bradley

RP (8): Rogers, Topa, Sands, Banda, Funderburk, Orze, Liam Hendriks, David Festa

C (2): Jeffers, Caratini

IF (6): Bell, Keaschall, Lee, Lewis, Clemens, Tristan Gray

OF (5): Buxton, Wallner, Larnach, Austin Martin, James Outman

Martin and Outman get Opening Day spots thanks to their versatility and ability to provide late game value off the bench with defense and baserunning. Bradley beats out Zebby for the final rotation spot. Hendriks is healthy and Festa shines in short spurts to give the Twins some electricity at the end of games.

Most controversially, I have Gray as the final position player. Kreidler is a marginal defender at shortstop while Gray shines there. He also has the potential to be a much better hitter than Kreidler and have a mid-career offensive breakout like the Twins helped Willi Castro discover. I think Arcia is completely washed. If you can’t hit in Denver in August, you can’t do it in Minneapolis in April. Thanks for reminding me of Twins legend/your brother Oswaldo Arcia, though.

Who do you see making the Twins out of Spring Training? Any surprises you think will come out of nowhere like Castro in 2023 or Jhoan Duran in 2022?

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...ection-1-0-who-will-break-camp-with-the-twins

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 2026 spring training roster — numerically

Welcome back, Cody. | Stephen Maturen / Getty Images

A month ago, I wrote about the new jersey numbers among the Twins’ roster. Now that the team’s spring training roster is finalize, why not do it again? After all, there have been several signings, both major- and minor-league, and other roster changes.

I won’t spend as many words on numbers for individual players this time, just highlighting ones I find interesting and going over general trends and changes.

Here goes. (All players in italics are non-roster invitees to major league camp.)

Starting Pitchers
17 Bailey Ober
20 Mick Abel
24 Simeon Woods Richardson
26 Taj Bradley
41 Joe Ryan
49 Pablo López
52 Zebby Matthews
58 David Festa
60 Kendry Rojas
61 Connor Prielipp
71 John Klein
74 Trent Baker
78 Andrew Morris
81 Cory Lewis
82 Christian MacLeod
85 Marco Raya

(López tearing an elbow ligament yesterday already throws the projected rotation into question, but that has been discussed elsewhere.)

Unsurprisingly, players at the back of the roster have been largely assigned higher numbers as seems to be baseball tradition. I know many are projecting Prielipp to move to the bullpen, but I left him here just for the sake of the list. Interestingly, the three 80s numbers on this list have been worn by Twins: Jordan Balazovic wore 81, Ober and Austin Martin started their careers in 82, and Charlie Barnes and Jair Camargo wore 85.

Relief Pitchers
19 Eric Orze
31 Liam Hendriks
39 Andrew Chafin
43 Anthony Banda
44 Cole Sands
45 Travis Adams
47 Julian Merryweather
48 Justin Topa
51 Matt Bowman
53 Dan Altavilla
55 Taylor Rogers
57 Kody Funderburk
59 Grant Hartwig
65 Cody Laweryson
93 Andrew Bash
94 Raul Brito

Also unsurprisingly, major league veterans invited to camp don’t get assigned high spring training numbers. Hendriks, who debuted as a starter for the Twins wearing #62 before becoming a top-level closer, will wear his regular #31 because he is the 31st Australian to play in the majors. Chafin takes #39 for the fourth time (he’s worn it with the Cubs, A’s, and Angels), Banda has claimed the #43 he wore for the past two seasons (and earlier in Toronto) from James Outman, and Rogers (as mentioned in last month’s article) got his old #55 back from Funderburk. Laweryson debuted last year in #66; that number now belongs to field coordinator Toby Gardenhire.

Catchers
27 Ryan Jeffers
37 Victor Caratini
70 Alex Jackson
73 Patrick Winkel
77 Noah Cardenas
83 Ricardo Olivar
90 Andrew Cossetti
92 David Bañuelos

Except for his debut, Caratini has worn #7 or #17 for his entire career. However, #7 is retired in Minnesota for Joe Mauer and #17 belongs to Bailey Ober, so he gets the next available number up (Jeffers has #27) ending in 7. Oh, and he debuted in 2017. (Additionally, Jackson had #64 last month but has switched to #70, which he wore for his debut with Atlanta and as an Oriole last year.)

Infielders
2 Kody Clemens
4 Tristan Gray
11 Orlando Arcia
12 Gio Urshela
13 Eric Wagaman
15 Luke Keaschall
22 Brooks Lee
23 Royce Lewis
56 Josh Bell
76 Kaelen Culpepper
86 Aaron Sabato
89 Tanner Schobel

Arcia’s most common numbers have been 3 and 11; 3 is retired for Harmon Killebrew, so it’s no surprised he’s claimed #11. Urshela has never before worn #12, but the #15 he wore as a Twin in 2022 is taken by Keaschall.

Outfielders
5 Ryan Kreidler
9 Trevor Larnach
16 Austin Martin
18 Alan Roden
25 Byron Buxton
30 James Outman
33 Emmanuel Rodriguez
38 Matt Wallner
64 Hendry Mendez
72 Gabriel Gonzalez
75 Walker Jenkins
80 Kyler Fedko
87 Kala’i Rosario

As mentioned above, Outman switched away from last year’s #43 to accommodate Banda; he now wears #30. His old #33 now belongs to Emmanuel Rodriguez, who has switched off of #32 because…

Coaches
0 Grady Sizemore (1BC)
8 Derek Shelton (MGR)
32 LaTroy Hawkins (BPN)
46 Ramon Borrego (3BC)
63 Mike Rabelo (ABEN)
66 Toby Gardenhire (MLFC)
67 Trevor Amicone (AHIT)
68 Mark Hallberg (BEN)
79 Rayden Sierra (AHIT)
84 Keith Beauregard (HIT)
88 Pete Maki (PIT)
91 Luis Ramirez (APIT/INT)
97 Anderson De La Rosa (BPNC)
98 Frank Nigro (BPNC)

…LaTroy got his number back!

So if you’re watching or attending the games, and you see someone you don’t recognize with an unfamiliar number, now you know who they are. (Until the roster inevitably shuffles again.)

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/spring-...oster-numerically-jersey-number-liam-hendriks

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Should the Twins sign a free agent SP or trust their depth?

TORONTO, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 23: Lucas Giolito #54 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the first inning of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 23, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The loss of Pablo Lopez unquestionably hurts the Twins, but in baseball as in life, time moves on whether we want it to or not. I wrote out my projected roster earlier this week where I had Taj Bradley winning the final rotation slot out of Spring Training. Now, he should essentially be locked into the 4 spot while Zebby Matthews, David Festa, and Mick Abel fight for the fifth and final rotation spot. Behind them are a plethora of untested rookies, including top pitching prospect Connor Prielipp.

Even after losing Pablo, this Minnesota goes eight deep on “probably MLB ready” arms between the four locked starters and the young combo of Matthews, Festa, Abel, and Prielipp. They have four more pitchers likely ready to contribute to the Big League squad after a bit more AAA seasoning (Andrew Morris, Kendry Rojas, Marco Raya, John Klein) even more solid, if unspectacular older depth behind them (Cory Lewis, Christian MacLeod, CJ Culpepper, among others).

Obviously not every player will work out, but the point is that the Twins have multiple lines of defense to tap into in the inevitable event of additional pitcher injuries.

If they turn to the free agent market, there’s three pitchers remaining who would be an upgrade over Simeon Woods Richardson, who is probably the line for if a player is worth signing or not. They are Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, and Max Scherzer.

I think we can cross Scherzer off the list. At 43 years old, the future Hall of Famer will likely only be interested in joining a true blue contender, which the Twins are decidedly not at the moment.

Twins fans are familiar with Giolito’s work. The former All-Star and longtime member of the White Sox had a solid bounce back in 2025 after returning from Tommy John Surgery that eliminated his 2024. His strikeouts were down significantly, but that’s not out of the norm for a player in their first season back from UCL reconstruction. All in all, he tallied 145 innings of ball with a 3.41 ERA/4.17 FIP with 121 strikeouts and 56 walks. He would likely cost the Twins somewhere in the $20M range for one season.

The other pitcher would be another familiar face: former Twin Zack Littell. Littell was in Minnesota for the first three seasons of his career, pitching 63.2 innings of relief between 2018 and 2020. He peddled along as a middling reliever for various teams over the next three seasons before the Rays moved him into their rotation midway through the 2023 season after a rash of injuries left their rotation completely depleted. Since then, Littell has emerged as a solid back end starter who excels at limiting walks and damage. He doesn’t strike out enough batters and gives up too many homers, but you don’t need to look further than Bailey Ober or Simeon Woods Richardson to see how the Twins have successfully worked with pitchers with limited stuff. Littell would be cheaper than Giolito, likely commanding closer to $10M for the 2026 season.

So, what do you think? Is it worth bringing in Giolito or Littell, or would the Twins be better off throwing the young arms at the wall and seeing who can stick?

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...ins-sign-a-free-agent-sp-or-trust-their-depth

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Which Twin are you most excited to see in Spring Training games?

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 20: Luke Keaschall #15 of the Minnesota Twins hits a double against the Cleveland Guardians in the second inning of the game at Target Field on September 20, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Spring training games start this weekend which means we’re one step closer to baseball being back! As always, regular players will be slowly ramped up (pitchers especially), meaning it will be a few weeks before we see a game that looks more like a regular season game, but we’ll also get plenty of chances to see players get new opportunities in the meantime.

One the one hand, it’s always nice to see the stars like Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan back in action (though no longer Pablo Lopez. Get better soon, bud). On the other, Spring Training is also a great chance for fans to get a sample of top prospects.

The Twins have four of their five top prospects (Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Connor Prielipp) in big league camp. With the WBC picking up later this Spring, all four of those players should get some extended run against MLB competition when Buxton, Ryan, Taj Bradley, and others leave to compete for their home countries.

I’m also very excited to see younger regulars like Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis. A lot of the Twins’ success or failure will depend specifically on the offensive development of those two players. Spring Training stats are meaningless, but I want to see if either player has finally progressed to the point that they can be more patient and selective on the pitches they attack.

Who are you most excited to see this Spring?

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...-most-excited-to-see-in-spring-training-games

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Pablo Lopez tears elbow ligament, season-ending surgery “on the table”

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 19: Pablo Lopez #49 of the Minnesota Twins pitches against the Cleveland Guardians on September 19, 2025 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images

According to Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, Pablo Lopez tore an elbow ligament during live BP yesterday and will likely miss the 2026 season recovering from surgery.

Pablo López has a torn elbow ligament and “surgery is very much on the table” according to Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll.If surgery is needed, López would miss the entire season.

— Aaron Gleeman (@aarongleeman.bsky.social) 2026-02-17T16:41:14.993Z

There’s no way to sugarcoat this one, folks. It’s hard to see a world where the Twins can compete for the playoffs without one of their three best players. Lopez has been Minnesota’s unequivocal number one starter since being acquired prior to the 2023 season. He is as universally beloved as anyone in the game and his close relationship with fellow Venezuelan and Twin Johan Santana made him the perfect headliner to this rotation.

All that being said, if there was one area of this roster that could withstand a few injuries, it was the starting pitchers. Joe Ryan has made a career of stellar first halves before fading in the second, so they’ll need him to maintain his performance the entire season. They’ll also need Bailey Ober to bounce back to his normal, reliable self that he was from 2021-2024. And Minnesota always needed some young arms to step up this season, but the true pressure of winning the division will now fall to pitchers like Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, David Festa, and Mick Abel who will need to prove if their former Top 100 prospect statuses were worth the hype.

Pablo is as reliable and friendly of a player as there is in MLB, but the Twins’ playoff hopes were never his burden to bear. If the the young hitters still can’t develop, Pablo’s individual performance would have little impact on the team as a whole. The mission is the same as it was yesterday: develop the hitters and hope you catch a few breaks along the way.

Get better soon, Pablo! All of Twins Territory is rooting for you.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...w-ligament-season-ending-surgery-on-the-table

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins Flashback: 1996 (Pt. 2)

The loss of franchise cornerstone Kirby Puckett was an enormous setback to start the 1996 Minnesota Twins season. But the show must go on, as they say, and whether narrated through Dick-n-Bert on MSC or Herb-n-John over the air, the ‘96 Twins were off and running.

Offense (97 team OPS+)​

The three guys Puckett was supposed to pair perfectly with all performed admirably…

• Chuck Knoblauch: 197 H, 140 R, 35 2B, 14 3B, 45 SB, .341 BA, 143 OPS+
• Paul Molitor: 225 H, 99 R, 41 2B, 8 3B, 113 RBI, 18 SB, .341 BA, 116 OPS+
• Marty Cordova: 176 H, 97 R, 46 2B, 111 RBI, .309 BA, 112 OPS+

Alas, six others batsmen had to come to the plate each game, accounting for the below-average 97 team OPS+.

Pitching (97 team ERA+)​

The “Rick Aguilera as a starter” disaster and sub-90 ERA+ campaigns from the likes of Greg Hansell, Eddie Guardado, Jose Parra, & Pat Mahomes Sr gave this team a reputation of being pitching-poor.

But the likes of Brad Radke (114 ERA+), Frankie Rodriguez (101 ERA+), Rich Robertson (100 ERA+), and Scott Aldred (100 ERA+) all held their own in the rotation while Mike Trombley (170 ERA+) & Dan Naulty (110 ERA+) were solid firemen.

Other ‘96 highlights included…

• Molitor’s 3,000th hit—a triple, no less!

• Beating the Detroit Tigers 24-11
• Collecting 8 doubles in a single contest
• Sending Knobby to the All-Star game in Philadelphia
• Trading Dave Hollins to Seattle for a Player To Be Named Later—who turned out to be David Ortiz
• Drafting Jacque Jones & Chad Allen
• Chip Hale’s remarkable 19 pinch hits!

Without the legendary Kirby panache to draw paying customers, attendance sagged to 17,745/game—11th of 14 in the American League. Well, until Kirby Puckett Tribute Night, which predictably packed the house…

All told, the ‘96 Twins played exactly like a team without their leader, finishing a listless 78-84. They avoided the AL Central cellar, but were still a whopping 21.5 GB crown-wearing Cleveland. The team was below-average in the first half (41-45) and below-average in the second half (37-39). They were below-average at home (39-43) and below-average on the road (39-41). Remarkable consistency for such a middling squad.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...-radke-aguilera-mahomes-guardado-puckett-hale

 

[Minnesota Twins]

TwinkieTown Movie Night: Back to the Future Part III

(This post is adapted from one on the LibraryDVDLove website.)

Here’s your link for the movie! It’s from a Strange Site, but most internet security experts consider it pretty safe (for streaming; I wouldn’t try downloading). It has no commercials, so no sync issues! Sync issues are a pain on Movie Nights! Start the show at 7:30!

This was suggested by Zach, who hasn’t wanted to do any Movie Nights because he doesn’t want reading/adding comments to distract from watching the movie. Since he knows this movie by heart, the comments won’t distract him.

Fair enough!

I haven’t seen it since it came out, because I really screwed this one up.

I was working as a projectionist at a movie theater back then, and movies came shipped to the theaters via FedEx or whatever. They were all shipped in reels about 20 minutes long or so. Here’s a photo of what a reel can looked like, it had a couple of reels in it:

That’s what you’d get shipped to the theater, is a few cans like that.

Then you’d attach them together with special film tape, and put them on a big circular platter. The platter would gradually speed up, and the entire movie would run from one platter, through a series of rollers, into and out of the projector. Onto another platter. Next showing, run the film from the full platter onto the empty one. Here’s what those platters looked like (the third one would be if you had a double feature).

Well, when it came to BTTF3, our head projectionist had made a minor mistake.

He’d attached one of the reels incorrectly. It would, when that mistake came up, make the movie show the top of one frame and the bottom of another. Like this:

Now, that’s an easy thing to fix when you’re showing the movie; there’s a knob on the projector you can adjust to move the image up/down. Once the mistake comes up, the picture will look wonky for a few seconds, then the projectionist can fix it.

But, our head projectionist was embarrassed about making that mistake. It was Opening Day of a big blockbuster movie; we had one of the biggest screens in America, over 1000 seats. Everything was sold out for the evening shows, and the weekend would probably be huge. He didn’t have time to fix the mistake now, but he’d fix it tomorrow. I just needed to be aware of it, and adjust the knob for the rest of the evening shift.

So I decided to impress everyone with my 17-year-old Projector Knowledge.

I would fix the mistake.

In between showings, I super-speeded the movie platters up to the mistake, making it go slow at first, then faster and faster. Like slowly speeding up a lazy Susan with salt shakers on it. That’s how I’d have time to get to the mistake, and fix it before the next showing. What the head projectionist didn’t do. (For good reason!)

And then, when I got to the mistake, the reel tape I was gonna fix, I GRABBED THE PLATTER AND STOPPED IT. Here’s a closer view of those platter systems. Take a look at the middle of each platter:

See that metal ring in the middle of the unused bottom platter? It’s attached to the platter via pegs and holes, it ain’t going nowhere. There’s another metal ring just like it on the top platter; it’s where the film goes once it’s been through the projector. It ain’t going nowhere.

But that middle platter? The one feeding out the film? Nothing is holding that sucker in place except gravity.

What do you think would happen if you grabbed a lazy Susan moving at high speed and stopped it? All the salt shakers would fly off. Angular momentum, baby, basic physics.

And that’s what happened when I grabbed and quick-stopped the platter with half of Back to the Future III on it.

Whoosh! The movie flew off the platter and onto the floor. And it totally unspooled.

It was fuggin’ ruined. It was destroyed. It looked like if your cat played with a ball of yarn, except your cat was totally on cocaine.

I went downstairs and told my manager “we have got a major problem here,” and he came upstairs.

And when he saw that unspooled cat yarn, he just sank to his knees and put his hands on his face. I mean, I remember that Ultimate Despair 35+ years later.

We’re talking 1050 seats (it was a huge screen!) sold out for that showing, all of whose customers wanted their money back. Ads already placed in the newspaper about tonight’s and tomorrow’s showtimes.

Which wasn’t gonna happen until Universal shipped out another copy of the movie I ruined (and each copy probably cost about $5000 or so).

It did not make the ticket window people happy with me (they had to handle all the refunds), or the manager or the head projectionist. But I wasn’t fired. Their attitude was “wow, you will NEVER make that dumb mistake again.” And they were right!

Although, my calc teacher knew I was the projectionist on duty. And she had gone with her entire family. She was TICKED. So she threatened to withhold my diploma unless I took Remedial Extra Calc at her house. And she was a big doodoo head.

Is there a moral to this story?

No.

But that’s why I haven’t watched this movie since it came out. So, like, I forgot ZZ Top was in it:

Oh, and apparently this scene’s in the second movie:

It’s officially a Baseball Movie Series, then!

Here’s your link again for the movie! Click your clicks at 7:30!

Here’s the upcoming schedule:

February 27: The Stratton Story (1949)

James Stewart plays a pitcher who makes the majors, falls in love, then faces intense obstacles. Haven’t seen it, but it’s based on a true story, which in Hollywood means “100% accurate.” Free on the Strange Site.

March 6: Stop Making Sense (1984)

You may ask yourself: do we have some rock fans, here? We do. And this is one of the very best rock-concert movies. Featuring the Talking Heads and a totally badass touring band. Free on the Strange Site.

March 13: 42 (2013)

I wanna make sure we get this one in, because we started with The Jackie Robinson Story. I might be outta town March 20. Free on the Strange Site.

March 20: Field of Dreams (1989)

So, if I’m outta town, I can trust all y’all to behave nicely to each other during this one, right? You’re all nice people. Most of ya. Free on the Strange Site.

No more time for suggestions this year… but, who knows, maybe we’ll give it a go next year, too? In any case, show starts at 7:30!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/book-club/51237/twinkietown-movie-night-back-to-the-future-part-iii